Bible,while meantime, with so many importunities, I fancied that I,a used-upold man, would not have been grudged a littlequietand peace before I fellasleep.But thus
I am pressedon all sides to lead a life of worry.
I can, and the rest must be left undone.
Many thanks for all your kind feelings towards me.
May you prosper in the Lord, and pray for me, as I am sorry to hear that (Gresser)is thinkingof leavingthe flock at May the Lord do what pleasethHim.
Greet your dearest wife from me.
Luther complainsof bad times,and speaksof his daughter's illness.
Grace and peace in the Lord I shall write you very shortly, my dear Probst,to let you hear from me in case you might fancyI had forgottenyou or did not esteem you.
I am weary, tired,and chilled ; in short, an old man who is of no more use. have run my race, and nothingnow remains but that I should be gatheredto my fathers,and the worms and corruptionreceive their prey.
I have lived long enough,if this be life.
Pray for me that the hour of my departuremay be well pleasing to God and salutaryfor me.
Emperor and the whole kingdom does not concern me, except that I commend them to It appears to me as if the world itselfwere approaching its end, and, as the Psalm says, waxing old like a garment that is soon to be renewed.
Princes are no longerinspiredwith the courage and virtues of heroes,but are filled with godlesshatred and discord, greedand selfishness.
State can no longerboast of possessing men, and its head and members resemble those described by Isaiah in the third chapterof his prophecies.
So there is nothinggood to hope for,except that the day of our great God and our redemptionshould speedily dawn.
My daughterMargarethathanks you for your gift.
She, along with all her brothers,took measles,but the latter are well long ago, while she has been combating an attack of fever for ten weeks, and it is stilldoubtful whether she may recover.
I shall not rebel againstGod if He take her to Himself, away from this devilish world, from which may He soon release me and mine.
I long for this every day,and to see an end of the furyof Satan and his followers.
A greetingto you and yours from my Kathie and all our folks.
To my good old friend,Nicolas CEmler, who more than once carried me in his arms to and from school, neither of us then being aware that one brother-in-law carried another.
Luther promisesto visit him again.
December zj^ i544Grace and peace, most worthy Bishop in I write this letter to Medler about the theological lectureship, of which you kindlyreminded me, and I fancyyou will find it easier to send it to him than
I, as at present there is a scarcity of messengers.
I have firmlydecided,if at all possible, to come to you at the LeipsicFair,for head and feet are prettywell justnow considering my years.
I have preached twice